No Air
by Stacy Dustin
Summary: Feliciano Vargas has nothing but a rusty old pocket watch to keep his grandfather's memory alive. That is, until he meets a young, energetic, and slightly protective merman named Ludwig. GerIta, with slight RomaBel and PruMon.


**Okay so I'm rewriting this because there was a typo the first time I published it and it pissed me off. Anyway, yeah, I know that Ludwig and Feli's personalities aren't exactly canon, but this is how I see them in my head. Sooooo yep. Enjoy, I guess. I'm working on the next chapter. hehe**

Feliciano inhaled the familiar scent of the ocean and hugged himself. Everything was the same as he had left it. The old gray dock still slightly dipped at one corner, and the sound of the distant highway and seagulls calling to each other drifted to his ears. He stood there for a lingering moment before taking a step towards the shore. Unwillingly, his legs kept moving and before he knew it, he was standing in the middle of the dock and looking out at the ocean in front of him. He was about to turn around and leave when he suddenly remembered why he had come. Cautiously, he slipped his hand in his pocket and grasped the cold metal disk. Taking a deep breath, he pulled it out and brought it up to his face.

The familiar old pocket watch shone in the sunlight as Feliciano turned it around in his hand. He rubbed his finger over its rusted sides and squinted his eyes. It had been his grandfather's watch. Years ago, Feliciano's grandfather had sat him and his big brother, Lovino, down on his knees and told them of the days when he was young and living with his sister by the ocean front. Actually, living and working in the very place that Feliciano stood. They had been crabbers, and for a few years made their living by catching and selling crabs to the local food markets.

Sighing in defeat with himself, Feliciano slumped down against one of the dock's masts and closed his eyes. Not letting go of the watch, he stuck his available hand in his coat pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Flicking the lighter on, he brought a cigarette to his lips and inhaled deeply. He put his hand, still holding the watch, in his pocket and just sat in the sunlight for a few moments until he suddenly heard a splash to his left.

Flicking open his eyes, he turned to study the water beside him. Throughout his entire life, Feliciano had always loved seeing fish jump out of the water. He figured it was mainly because you never knew it was coming until you heard the splash, but by the time you looked, the fish was always long gone. The short flicker of excitement died down when he saw a wriggly shape hurry deeper into the dark water. Raising an eyebrow, Feliciano turned his focus back to his cigarette. Fish always seemed to be on a hurry for some reason. He chuckled to himself as the image of a fish with a cigarette popping out of its mouth flashed through his mind. That ought to calm it down.

Finally beginning to relax for the first time in days, Feliciano didn't notice when he shifted his hand to a more comfortable position and the pocket watch his grandfather had given him slipped out of his grasp and into the water. The sun softened everything around him and he felt himself begin to drift. He almost expected to feel Grandpa Roma nudge him and tell him that falling asleep on the edge of a dock was dangerous, but instead, he focused on the sounds of cars in the distance. The minutes began to fly by and soon turned to hours, and before Feliciano knew it, he was asleep.

Jolted awake by a sudden crash, Feliciano had to grab on to the mast of the dock as he felt his weight teeter dangerously over the edge of the wood. Scrambling to pull himself back to the center of the platform, he waited a few moments before looking back over the edge. His heart stopped as he spotted a huge figure right under the water below the dock. It was quite far down, but Feliciano could slightly make out scales. Clutching his chest, he began to back away slowly, but like always, his curiosity got the best of him. Without thinking he quickly poked his head back over the edge. He figured that it was a fish. Though his mind couldn't quite grasp how big it was. He couldn't come up with a fish that size that would be so close to the shore.

It seemed to be moving as if its head were stuck to the ground and it was trying desperately to get free. Finally, the wiggling died down, and it drifted down into the murky water. Feliciano's breathing sped up as he realized that did he not grab on to the mast, he would have fallen right on to the fish. A shiver ran up his spine as he imagined slamming up against it. He closed his eyes and clenched his fist, willing the image to die in his head. Just then he heard a splash and he looked up. Nearly jumping back and off the dock, he found himself staring straight into wide blue eyes.

"You were just asleep! I-I don't understand you were just sitting there, and I thought... Oh."

At hearing the voice, Feliciano began to panic and look around wildly for something to protect himself with.

"Oh... calm down, now..."

Feeling helplessly exposed, he grabbed the nearest object. It turned out to be an old fishing pole, and he didn't give himself time to think before grasping the handle and swinging it out in front of him. Squeezing his eyes shut, he began to swing it around.

"Woah, watch it!"

"Go away!"

"But I-"

"Go away!"

"I ju-"

"Go away, go away, go away-"

"BUT YOU DROPPED SOMETHING."

Feliciano froze. He blinked one eye open. The man in the water had his eyes shut tight and was leaning backwards as though he was bracing himself. The man in the water. Feliciano was sure he was going crazy. No person would just pop out of the water as if the ocean were their front yard. But then he noticed that the man's arm was outstretched, and in his hand was the pocket watch. The man had the pocket watch. "How did you..."

"I said you dropped it."

"No I didn't."

The man was quick to respond. "Yes you did."

Feliciano was just about to relax a bit more until the man started swimming towards him. With his tail. The man also had a fish tail. Feliciano gasped, held the fishing pole tighter, and the man froze. All of a sudden, crushing memories flooded Feliciano's mind. Grandpa Roma's stories were all true. Every last one of them true. And all those years Feliciano had thought he was just making them up to satisfy he and Lovino's pleas for a bedtime story.

"What... No," Feliciano cocked his head to one side. "Y-you're real?" He hadn't meant to make it sound like a question, but doubt clouded his mind. Though he wasn't exactly sure what he doubted. Probably his sanity.

"Yeah, I heard you guys don't believe in us," the man slowly made his way to the dock. "Which I think is kind of funny. It's like not believing in sharks because you've never seen one before."

Feliciano's mouth hung open, forgotten. He flinched as the man dropped the watch on the dock and scratched his head. Being so close, Feliciano had the chance to examine him. He had messy blonde hair that hung over his eyebrows and the most unbelievable blue eyes Feliciano had ever seen. "I'll just be going now..."

"Wait." The words were out before Feliciano could control them, and he shakily lowered the rod. "... What's your name?"

"Why do you want to know my name?" The blue eyed man knit his eyebrows in confusion. But at Feliciano's silence, he slowly replied. "Ludwig."

"Ludwig," Feliciano repeated under his breath. Ludwig had a thick accent that Feliciano couldn't quite place. "You're a merman..."

Ludwig rolled his eyes. "You could call me that if you want." He turned and began to leave.

Feliciano's chest lurched. "Wait! Where are you going?"

Ludwig turned his head sideways and gave a half smile while raising an eyebrow before replying, "Away from that thing in your hands. I don't like the way you were pointing it at me." And at that, he dipped his head and disappeared into the ocean.

Every bit of content that Feliciano had been feeling earlier was demolished. Squeezing his eyes shut, he frantically pulled another cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and sucked it as if it was air and he was drowning.


End file.
